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First I want to appreciate President Trump for going public with a clear statement (though only offered after two days of intense pressure) that “Racism is evil.”… So if Trump is willing to give a little on Charlottesville, I figure so can I. One group that is getting a pass by the liberal press right now as we focus on the death and harm the terrorist motorist did is the antifa movement. …

The Thanksgiving story is one of those Hallmark Card moments. It is a sanitized glimpse into the past that really doesn’t stand up to historical scrutiny. As a national myth of peace and brotherly love that showcases American values, it falls flat on its face upon more careful inspection. The national myth of Thanksgiving was created by Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War for the purpose of stimulating national unity. And this is the rub. Given our far less than glorious past, we need symbols of unity to bring us together. But they need to be forward focused as a potential rather than backward focused celebrating some idealized past. …

With big change, comes big uncertainty. A new administration will begin January 20th, 2017, that isn’t going to look like the last eight years. There are very scary times ahead for those of us who champion a progressive agenda for social change.

And part of the reason for this is we operate out of different stories.

What I find most interesting and most disturbing about this election cycle is the process people are using to decide who to vote for. It is anything but a careful, rational analysis that weighs the pros and cons of each candidate’s positions on the issues, their governing philosophy, and their party platform. I’ve looked at both candidates this way and see interesting proposals from each one.

More than any other election in recent memory, this one is being conducted primarily on character and personal values. Perhaps we’re more aware than ever that campaign promises don’t mean that much, in comparison, to wondering whether the next President, sitting in the Oval Office next to the red phone, will start World War III after a temper tantrum.

Today, spend a little time as I did, in the comment sections of an islamophobic web site and you’ll read just horrific posts that show little or no appreciation or understanding of Muslims and the relationship they have to current events in the Middle East or global terrorism.

The first thing to know about American Muslims is they are far from monolithic. Most came as individuals or families, not as communities or sects. If you were to go to a mosque here, you’d hear many different languages spoken. Another difference that is very significant is many Mosques do not operate, for the most part, like churches and synagogues do here. They are not community centers so much as communal places people can come to pray five times a day. They exist to meet people’s worship needs much more than their social needs. And since people come from many different cultures and speak many different languages, their affinity for each other is their worship life not their social or political life.

Five middle school students in Plattsburgh researched Columbus discovering America and were surprised to learn he didn’t. He discovered the West Indies. Columbus didn’t trade with the indigenous people he met. He killed and enslaved them. The students were surprised to learn all the grisly details about what happened after Columbus arrived on this hemisphere.

So they decided to join the effort to change the name from Columbus Day to Indigenous People’s Day.

My essay on White Male Revaluation stimulated a lot of conversation. One person approached me to make sure I was okay mentally. The trolls who comment on my blog were more than happy to declare me deranged. As I reread it today, I found much I still agreed with and affirmed … but sensed a deeper subtext to wrestle with. Can white males who hold positions of power be change agents to help us move toward a more just society? I’d like to explore this topic a little more deeply. …

I tremble before the first sentence of our mission statement. It says, “We welcome everyone.” Everyone is a very wide net of inclusion. That means every gender, ability, size, color, ethnicity, language, age, level of thinking and feeling – everyone!

A source of this sentence is one of our core values. We are committed to fulfill our Unitarian Universalist first principle which states that everyone has inherent worth and dignity. There are no people we reject based on a physical attribute or ability. Our door is open if you can’t see or hear or walk. Our door is open to people of every background and heritage. Our door is open to three-year-olds who can’t sit still and 90 year-olds who can barely move.

This vision of inclusion is quite beautiful and inspiring. Yet, on a day-to-day basis, the challenges of actualizing this sentence are significant and sometimes daunting.

One word I hear more and more to reference this distressing aspect of the human condition is the word “brokenness.” As I hear that language, I have mixed feelings about using brokenness as a code word for our sinfulness. …

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